Every Little Thing
by Sass Master
Summary: It's the only thing that there's just too little of. Love is something everyone is entitled to. Collection of short oneshots. ReTi
1. Tell Me That You Love Me

AN. Okay. So. Like. Yeah. This is a really really random short sappy dramaticish thing that came to mind and was typed before my other, better ideas because it's shorter. It's not in my little story line thingy, cause it's just in a random context. I think I'm going to assemble a little collection of fics like this. Yknow… short crappy ones XD

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"I need something cheerful," she confessed. He couldn't blame her. "Tell me a joke."

"A joke?"

"Any joke," she insisted. "Please, I could use a laugh." Her tears certainly proved that.

"All right," A joke, a joke… he would have suggested something more profound as a cure for the blues, but if that was what she wanted, then that's what he was going to give her. But he had to think for a moment. "I've got one."

She scooted closer so she could listen, sniffling.

"A man is in love with a woman, and he has been since he was a little kid," He paused but continued when she nodded. "But he never told her, y'know? He just waited and waited, hoping that eventually she'd figure it out and come running to him, and they'd live happily ever after. So he waited. And I mean _waited_. His friends told him to move on but he said he didn't want anyone else. He became an old man, and he was still all alone, until he got really sick. His neighbor found him collapsed in his house, and he was taken to the hospital."

He stopped for a moment to see if she was listening. She watched him with wide eyes, clutching a tissue in her hand tightly. He wondered if he was getting through to her. "So he's in his hospital bed, right? Yeah, the doctors just barely saved his life. And then he sees her. You know, his dream girl. She stares at him, comes up to him like she's been dying to tell him something.

"So she does. She says, 'I'm sorry. I'm sorry you wasted your life waiting for me. And…' She kinda stops cause someone calls her name from the other side of the room. 'I'm sorry, but I have to go to my husband now.' The old man was crushed. She didn't love him. She never did. It was too late for his happily ever after. The woman had said it herself—he wasted his life waiting for her. ….Suddenly he didn't feel much like recovering anymore. She didn't even come to his funeral."

He waited while she registered that he was finished. "That's not funny," she frowned, eyes even wider. "That's not even _happy_," he could see fresh tears gathering in her eyes. "Why did you tell me that story Reno? I wanted to hear a joke." She was very quiet when she finished her sentence, hiding her face among his shirt buttons, once again shaking slightly from emotion.

Maybe he hadn't gotten through to her with his story. Tseng had been good at that kind of thing, but somehow Reno never managed to pick it up. Sometimes he didn't even know what Tseng was talking about. "I can't cure that kind of hurt for you with a joke Tifa." He rubbed her back slowly while she calmed down.

She raised her head to look at him. He could see tearstains on his shirt. "Then what can you do?"

He hesitated, wondering what he was risking by going with the direct approach. "I…" He looked at her—she pleaded to him with her eyes, hoping he'd take her pain away. She'd abandoned the tissue in favor of the fabric of his shirt. "I can love you."

There were the tears again. "Can you? Can you really?" And the shaking.

It didn't matter if he could. He already did. He let her know by pulling her close, refusing to let go.

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**Sappy. Shut up, I don't care. I think you can probably figure out what Tifa's crying is related to. (It's Cloud, duh.) Hope that wasn't too painful. Review please!**


	2. Stand By Me

**A.N: Whoa looky, another one. Also written in less than an hour past 12 AM on a school night XD Go me. This one isn't really well edited cause I have to go to bed LOL. Hope ya like.**

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Something was wrong. Different, somehow. She wished she only knew what it was. She wanted to fix it if she could.

Oh God, what if it was something she _couldn't _fix?

He'd been acting so strange lately. Her immediate assumption was another woman. At least, until she'd realized that he didn't need another woman in order to leave her. Maybe he didn't want her anymore. She found herself waking up earlier and earlier, just to ensure that he was still there with her.

He'd been edgy, defensive, secretive. What had changed? Was it something she'd done?

She was shaking, sipping her coffee. She didn't drink coffee, she drank tea. He drank coffee.

She started a bit when she heard him step into the room. She didn't say anything. She was scared; had been walking on eggshells for a while now, terrified of doing something that might make matters worse. She wanted to hide behind her coffee mug.

"I'm going out," he said, deadpan. It was becoming so increasingly obvious that he was hiding something.

She didn't want to go down without a fight. "…Can I come with you?"

He shifted, face still blank. "I'm goin' to see Rude for a little bit. Laney ain't home. You wouldn't have any fun with just me and him."

Her heart sank—he was lying. "All…" Tears started forming in the corner of her eyes. "All right then…"

He headed towards the door. "Reno," she called. There was still a chance. "…When are you going to be back?" There was an audible hitch in her voice.

His eyes seemed to focus more on the floor than on her. "I don't know."

She was shaking violently now. 'I don't know?' 10 o'clock? Tomorrow? Never? She let him go without a word.

What could she possibly do with herself now? It was all too possible that the man she loved had just walked out on her. Her life could be crashing down, and she would only know when he _didn't _come back. Something about the prospect was too frightening to let her cry properly.

She downed more coffee—it was cold now. Why did she decide to drink it black?

Cold. Dark. Bitter.

She was effortlessly able to see this coming. She could have _done _something. She wasn't so easily fooled. The signs were far too obvious. His behavior was one thing—everyone had their moments. But there had been more tangible evidence.

He'd given her the pin number to his bank account to help her pay the bills. When she'd gone to redeposit the money she owed him, she noticed a large sum of money missing. She'd never seen that money in the house. Where did it go? And why did he need it?

And he'd been to a travel agency? She obviously wasn't supposed to find the various brochures about signing up with certain agencies. And a passport? She'd have asked about it if she hadn't been so afraid of what he'd say.

Or what he'd lie about.

She didn't want her coffee anymore. Miserably, she left the room and crawled onto the couch, exhausted from emotional strain.

When she awoke, it was much later. The sun had long since set and she was still alone. She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping them tightly in her arms. The sound of the door opening penetrated the darkness she sat in, and she realized she was crying.

"…Teef?" He was standing in the doorway. She could see another brochure sticking out of his back pocket. "Why are you in the dark?"

She couldn't talk now. The tears finally decided to fall.

"Teef?" He sat down next to her. He looked extremely guilty when he realized she was crying. "Look… I think we need to talk."

Suddenly she snapped. She launched herself at him, burying her face in his shirt and sobbing uncontrollably. "Oh God, Reno. I'm sorry!" She was slightly hysterical. "I-I don't know what I did to push you away but-but, I'm so glad you came back but…" Her tear-filled eyes met his. "We can work it out, okay? Please don't leave me."

He looked shocked. "_Leave _you? What are you talking about?"

"I found the brochures! And-and, the passport and—why did you take so much money out of the bank? And you lied to me! And—"

"Please," He seemed very upset. "I'm not going to leave you."

She sniffed, not sure if she should believe him. "What about… all that then?" It hurt to think about it, but his word didn't really seem like it was good enough anymore.

"Tifa…" he started. "I'm so sorry for making you think that something was wrong. But Teef… the fact of the matter is that I wanted to ask you to marry me."

She blinked. "Wh-what?"

"I wanted to take you someplace nice, but I needed to renew my passport. And I was trying not to get ripped off for the trip so I was looking for a decent travel agent." Suddenly she almost wanted to laugh. He never would have been able to interpret her outburst if they hadn't been so close. And I'm sorry I lied to you about where I was going today but the thing is…" He reached into his pocket. "I went to buy the ring. That's what the money was for."

She gasped when he opened the black velvet box. It was beautiful. _God_, she felt like an _idiot_.

"I guess I've probably fucked it all up now, but…" He took a deep breath. "Tifa? How 'bout it? …Will you marry me?"

She was crying and shaking all over again. She kissed him fiercely, finding words to not quite be enough.

He frowned a little when she pulled away. "So, uh… is that a yes?"

She laughed, once again pressing her face to his chest. "Yes," she said. "_Yes_."

They stayed as they were for quite some time, until the moon had risen over the trees. She admired the ring on her hand as the moonlight caught it. She realized it wasn't so dark anymore. She could see everything clearly.

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**A.N: Yeah, so it's a little sappy again. That's what's been in my mind lately. Next one of these ain't like that. Will probably have that one up by the weekend sometimes.**

**Haha there's actually SYMBOLISM in this fic! Totally unintentional too. I feel cool.**

**Leave lots of reviews! (_Chapter specific please? They're not related after all!_)**


	3. A Room Of Our Own

**A.N: Just in case this isn't getting through to anyone, all these one-shots are TOTALLY SEPARATE AND DEVOID OF CONTEXT. Okay? Okay.**

**I was admittedly discouraged with the turn out for the last chapter. But yknow… it's cool. Just if you read that one and want to review, please, PLEASE leave it for THAT chapter! NOT related? Mmkay? Don't make me get all Mr. Mackey on your asses XD**

**Mucho smoochos to my beloved Rachikins. Thanks for the confidence boost :MWAH:**

**Time for the fic.**

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She knew it was rude to stare, but…

They kind of called attention to themselves, in a subtle sort of way. Out of all the drunks, all the dreary bar-goers, was the one couple, sitting in the corner, so very obviously and completely in love.

They hadn't even ordered any drinks. Belatedly, she realized she hadn't gone to ask if they wanted any. Maybe it was for fear of interrupting. The two of them had a special connection or something—she could tell. She didn't want to intrude upon that.

Still, that made her wonder why they'd chosen a public place for something intimate. Admittedly, the woman's position in the man's lap was at first due to limited seating. But the bar had emptied out a little by now. They stayed that way—and decided to make more of it than just sitting—for fairly obvious reasons. She blushed, thinking of how embarrassed she'd be with everyone watching her kiss like that. Blushing further, she became aware that she was the only one watching them.

They wouldn't care if the whole world stood and stared, she realized. It was romantic, really. It must have been nice—to have someone you cherished so much, you would show in anywhere, with reckless abandon, not caring who saw.

She'd thought she loved someone like that once, but she understood now. There wasn't chemistry like this couple had, that undeniable spark that uncannily bound people together and created something incredible. She sighed, once again thinking: _romantic_.

She wanted that. Maybe not the public displays quite as much as the affection that inspired them. The displays might have been nice too—just more proof that she and that special someone really had something between them.

A special someone would be needed. Only one candidate came to mind, but—

The bell on the door chimed, and in walked the subject of her consideration. She managed to tear her eyes away for just that moment to smile at him as he made his way towards the bar. She should have been expecting him this time of night, but her distraction had left her somewhat caught off-guard when he arrived at the very moment she'd been thinking of him.

"You know…" He said when he sat down. She wanted to laugh. Whatever was coming down the pike, she could tell he'd been thinking of it on the walk over. "Most people come here for the drinks and the food, but _I _come for the sexy bartender."

She briefly looked away from the couple, long enough to comprehend what he said, then blush and make some off-hand comment that was not even processed in her brain. She was a bit lost in thought, and her eyes quickly traveled back to the corner where she resumed her wistful musings of romance.

Intuitively, his gaze followed hers. He grinned widely when he found what she was looking at. Sarcastically, he feigned offense, shaking his head. "Honestly, in a public place," The grin remained. "Hey! Get a room, would ya?"

She put a hand to her mouth. God, did he _have _to yell that when she was _right_ there? She rapped him on the arm. "Don't say that!"

The couple abruptly stopped what they were doing. The woman turned about fifteen shades of red. "S-Sorry," she muttered, looking every bit like she wanted to sink into the floor and disappear.

The man had no hint of embarrassment at all. In fact, he looked rather pleased with himself. He nudged the woman in the side. "Man, Tifa, we've got nothing to apologize for," He grinned. "It's not our fault people tend to get jealous."

Tifa looked even more mortified. "_Reno…_"

"C'mon Teef," He eased her out of his lap and took her hand, leading her towards the exit. "We'll just go someplace else."

The bar hostess watched them leave, still in disbelief that Mr. Candidate-for-Special-Someone had just blurted that out. She turned to him. He was still smirking, looking every bit as pleased with himself as Reno had. She wanted to be mad at him.

But suddenly, he was kissing her, and she felt the spark, and nothing could bring her down from that high.

And even though she could have predicted it without a doubt, her face, like Tifa's had, burned bright red when some patron from across the bar yelled, "Get a room!"

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**A.N: …Did I fool you? XD I hope so! This fic is kind of pointless without that LOL. And I hope it wasn't too confusing.**

**Leave lots of reviews for me cause they, like cool friends, give me confidence and make me wanna write more.**

**And I'm aware I've been somewhat of an ingrate to all the people that DO review. I'm sorry. Know that you guys are my life-blood. Thanks so much.**


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